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 Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 1:06 pm
As Kyle reached the peak of his ascension, he glanced downward, he spied the immediate assault of Joe and, even closer, his whirling bo-staff. Twisting himself to miss would be improbable, and even with gravity's slow-down effect, the attack would have quite a bit of damage behind it. So what did he do? He put both hands to his chest and released a Banish spell.
The force from the Banish was enough to push him a few feet out of the way, narrowly dodging the bo-staff; no damage was done, due to his own Affinity, luckily. However, there was still the issue of Joe, steadily rising to meet the now falling Kyle.
Ever the fighter.
Charging energy into his vocal chords, he smirked before opening his mouth wide, releasing a (literally) stunning dragon's shout: the Radiant Roar. It wasn't damaging by itself, but the after-effects could be, if he were stunned enough to falter in his continuous jumping. And if that wasn't enough? The holy knight released a Redemption beam from one hand straight down toward Joe.
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 1:41 pm
Joe cursed as he continued his rise. Of course Kyle would think of something like that to dodge an attack. But...if he could just get to Kyle and get a grab on him...yeah, that could work. The fighter faltered for a second, catching Kyle's smirk, and immediately let the wind roar around him, silencing the roar before it reached his ears. This, of course, did not stop the Redemption from hitting Joe practically full force, even with his arms tossed up in an 'X' to guard. [Cue Music: Stickerbrush Symphony] Joe seemed to just float in the air for a second, the blow having stopped his ascent momentarily. He watched Kyle through his guard, his thoughts quick in such a short amount of time. Throws won't work if I can't get to him...But how could they actually be useful? I'd have to actually bring him to me-That's it![Cue Music: 東方永夜抄 『狂気の瞳 ～ Invisible Full Moon』アレンジ【Xi】] Regaining his balance, Joe flipped through the air and landed on a quickly formed Air Step, letting it linger so he could stand there. Reaching out, he clawed his hand and arced it. One might think he was using Cordonazo, but no. He was calling the staff back. The staff veered back, turning and arcing in the air and flying directly for Kyle's back. Of course, Joe took this opportunity to now leap forward and dive to the point where he and Kyle would actually meet in the air, should it hit. If everything worked out like he hoped, he'd be able to wrap his legs around the dragoon's abdomen, flip and toss him to the ground, and then throw in a pair of Chinooks to propel the male to the ground, where ever he landed(hell, even the water would hurt at that height and velocity). Of course, that would be if everything worked out perfectly. If not...he'd have to react fast.
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 1:58 pm
Kyle frowned at Joe's response, knowing full well what that meant; he could sense the magic intent behind him, and the only thing up there was wind and his staff. However, there was nothing he could do in retaliation, as it struck too quickly; luckily for the holy knight, it had lost most of its strength, relying solely on Joe's magic now, which wasn't quite on par.
Though it did some damage, what came next was, as he thought, the more deadly of the attacks. Immediately wrapped around by Joe, he felt the wind rush by him as he was twisted and thrown straight downward. Now spinning uncontrollably (it was a lot harder to change your trajectory in free-fall than movies would have you believe), Kyle's mind began to zoom ahead- defense. He needed defense, especially as he was sped up considerably by Chinook spells.
The teen immediately curled up into a ball, and as soon as he did, he seemed to give off a bright golden glow, much like his Starlights. This only sped him up marginally more, but it wouldn't matter, thanks to the Divine Intervention now encasing his form.
Within moments, his body crashed into the sand below, and on contact, there was a mild explosion of Holy energy as it was released from his form. Consequently, the area was now completely covered in sand, completely cutting off vision of the impact sight as it glimmered in the sunlight. How all of the sand remained aloft, like a dust cloud, was unknown.
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 2:13 pm
[Cue Music: Dark Palace of Water] Joe seemed to float in the sky(though he was really just drifting down REALLY slowly, riding the wind to stay aloft), shifting his gaze from the ground and the Starlights above him...at least, those he could see. He was better suited for seeing in the dark, that's for sure. Squinting, Joe realized seeing through the sand was as unlikely as seeing through the sunlight for the 'stars'. Yeah, while he made it hurt, he put himself at a disadvantage. Great...Joe started to drift around the sky in a lazy circle like a bird of prey, lightly falling and trying to keep an eye out for movement or magical energies. If anything, he could divebomb out of the way and jet through the air. He just needed to know where an attack would come from before he could even attempt to start considering dodging, and spamming magic would only hurt him in the long run...but he did let the natural air current wrap around him, and shoved some of his own healing power into it to slowly heal the damage that redemption had cause.
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 3:03 pm
Kyle sighed, unaffected by the thick cloud of 'sand' that now surrounded him. From what he could tell, he was being given a reprieve. He smiled, but made no noise. The explosion had successfully stopped Joe's assault, even if it was just for a moment; that, however, was all he needed.
Now, to put the pieces in their place.
The four Starlights, still hovering in place where Kyle had left them in his Vault (slightly above Joe) began to sink, slowly lowering, though at a faster rate than Joe was falling. As they slowly slipped toward ground level, however, there was something else. If Joe had not been distracted by the descending Starlights- if he'd kept his focus on the sand cloud (which, by this point, seemed to glimmer in the light more than sand should), he might have seen a shimmer of light from the corner of his eyes.
The two Starlights that Kyle had thrown in the beginning- the ones that had 'missed'- condensed completely into Neutron Stars and, one after another, fired at Joe, similar to two gunshots, the first going straight for him, and the other trailing behind to catch his second location, should he move.
As if that wasn't enough, a trio of Starlights were thrown out of the 'sand' cloud into random locations surrounding the battlefield, waiting to be used again.
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 4:15 pm
[Cue Music: Final Battle] Joe watched the starlights above him shift down(well, he saw two, and assumed the other two moved), and almost missed what was below him. Almost. A shot fired at him, and Joe dove, making the shot go above him. Of course, the second shot surprised him even more, and with a blast of wind, the fighter barrel rolled to the side. "s**t s**t s**t! Too damn close!" Breaking out of his roll with a blast of wind, Joe floated in the air, wind circulating around him. He didn't know what was coming next, so he had to act fast if he wanted to do something. Pointing his finger at the 'cloud', almost like a child making a gun with his hand, he said, "Pew pew pew!" and fired off numerous small balls of condensed air, which violently expanded upon contact with the ground or a solid object. If they made contact with Sory? Great! If not, they would help clear out that cloud. Hopefully.
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:21 am
Kyle tensed as Joe fired his bullets into the dust cloud; he could sense the magical intent of each one, though their target was simply the dust cloud itself. The cloud had, in fact, been mostly a coagulated nebula of Holy energy (hence the glimmer). It acted as a part of himself- an extension of his will and, by correlation, his being.
Though he managed to maneuver away from the first two with relative ease, the third air-bullet's burst of wind was a close call, knocking him onto his a** in the middle of his quickly-dissipating Cosmic Nebula. He'd be damned if that magic energy wasn't put to use, however; with a wave of one arm (using the other to quickly get up), the Cosmic Dust all swiftly condensed into three individual Starlights, all hovering in random places.
Kyle immediately turned to glance upward, arms at the ready; Joe was still in the air for a bit, though he could attack at any time.
Not ready!
Kyle rapidly tossed out another quick duo of Starlights into seemingly random areas of the beach before sending a third straight upward toward Joe.
At this point, the 12 Starlights currently out on the field (4 from his ascent, 3 having been tossed from the cloud earlier, 3 more from the cloud itself, and the 2 he'd just thrown) all began to slowly but surely revolve around the field. Each was at a different height, a different angle, some were near the middle, others were on the outer rims... it was all so random.
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:35 am
[Cue Music: Lufia 2 Battle Theme 2 Remix] Joe could see him now, cursing the fact that he didn't even consider the fact that the sand could've been that cursed cosmic dust of his. Of course, the fighter dropped and glided backwards to dodge the starlight thrown at him, he cursed at the number of moving starlights around him. Too damn many...Know I'm gonna have to dodge soon, but till then, no more time for him!Joe clawed his hands, and knew Kyle would feel the magic flaring. He just hoped the dragoon wouldn't know exactly what was coming. Swiping his hands, Joe released the magic, and shot ten Air Bullets around Kyle. Close enough upon impact to force him into the center of the ten shots with some damage, but not aimed for him. The next attack was, though. He speared his hands, as if to jab with them, and swiped back up, sending an 'X' of Cordonazo wind blades at that center where Kyle should be. Joe probably could've spammed more, if it wasn't for the fact that he was still trying to keep an eye on those Starlights to know when he needed to start moving.
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:31 pm
The Starlight that Kyle had thrown stopped just above Joe, after he'd dropped to dodge it. It didn't descend or move at all, just remained there.
Kyle, on the contrary, knew that he had to move. But where? That was the issue against Joe- his element was that of the invisible currents that surrounded all things, the manipulation of that unseen matter that filled every inch of otherwise empty space. Kyle only knew that an attack was coming, never where from. His immediate instinct was to use a Radiant Charge to go to the left; however, he wasn't quite quick enough. He managed to get about a meter and a half away before the mass-explosion of air and sand hit his back like a truck, sending him flipping and careening off course.
One last piece-!
Without bothering to get to his feet, Kyle swiftly lifted his head to look at Joe. He used one hand to lean on while the other was pointed directly at him, a Starlight forming just out of his hand. However, as soon as it formed-
The Starlight that Joe had dodged- the one that stopped right above him- condensed into a Neutron Star and immediately shot down at Joe, who wasn't all that far to begin with. The Star did so at just an angle that would knock Joe down into the center of the beach arena. Kyle never intended to use the Starlight in his hands as an attack- not yet, anyway.
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:37 pm
Oh, sure, Joe saw the Neutron Star form. He just didn't have the time to move. [Cue Music: Earth Painting] The 'star' exploded on contact with Joe's arms(all he had the time to do was throw up his arms to protect his face), a boom and bright light being all the male could process before he spun around, falling out of his spot in the sky. ...Ow....As Joe plummeted, Kyle might've noticed Joseph staring at him whenever his face and eyes were pointed in his direction. He might've noticed that the spinning was more controlled than it should've been. He definitely would've noticed that quick flare of magic, though. Joe spun fast, limbs 'flailing' with some control, and each time one passed in the direction of the dragoon, a wind blade shot out, and his descent seemed to slow as his spinning remained fast.
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:54 pm
"Tch!"
Kyle contorted the hand holding the Starlight somewhat, making it immediately form a disc of Holy energy (a Ring of Saturn); using his other hand to push him off the sand with enough force and momentum to let him flip backward, he tossed the charged disc upward at Joe, hoping to cut through a few of the waves.
However, there were yet more, which Kyle had a plan to get rid of. As he flipped back, he charged his legs with magic and, as he raised them one by one with the flip, used them to cut through the air and release two Holy Waves of energy, each aimed at Joe and, consequently, the waves coming his way.
Pushing off the ground one last time with his hands as he finished the back flip, he formed two additional Starlights and launched them to separate areas of the field, raising the count to 14. Before he could do anything else, however, a stray Wind Blade caught his abdomen and knocked him over, forcing him to twist and dance away from the last few.
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 4:40 pm
[Cue Music: Desert Battle Theme] With a dive, and a small twisting bend, Joe was under the Ring of Saturn, and around the first Holy Wave. The second, though, skimmed him, grazing across his upper arm and making the male hiss as he forced himself to land after most of his waves either were blasted out of the way or fell short, blasting sand into the air. "My turn, now." Wind sweeped up from all angles, carrying the disturbed sand and picking up more. The wind roared over the beach, and soon it was like a sandstorm in the desert, and Joe ran through it like he was a part of it, the sand wrapping around him without touching him, his bo in hand(after summoning it). Focusing on that sandstorm meant he wouldn't be able to do much more magic wise...but that was fine. Charging forward, Joe zigged, zagged, and shifted as he ran, charging after Kyle as the sand should've blasted the male opponent...and the wind should've told Joe where Kyle was, as it had to shift and move around the 'obstruction'. And anytime Joe was close enough, he'd lash out with his bo, always turning and coming back to make the next attack.
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:33 pm
Can't get a break, can I.
The moment Kyle felt the wind pick up, he thought of only one thing Joe could be doing- sand storm. Blinding Kyle would, essentially, cut off any means of attack; Joe was smart, he wouldn't use any targeting magic against Kyle to give off his position. He was useless, and (if he was right) if he remained on the ground, he'd fall with pathetic ease.
... actually.
Kyle remained in his place while casting a specific enchantment- Virgo's Verso. For a minute or so, Kyle would not only be immune to pain, but would instead receive healing benefits from it. As far as Joe would know, as he knocked Kyle around, he would be doing a significant portion of damage. And Kyle was knocked around, being pushed and shoved with each of the Bo-Wielder's swings.
However, as he was knocked around, he managed to release small amounts of Cosmic Dust, over and over. The amount of dust was minuscule in comparison to the amount of sand (at first), but if there was even a chance, a tiny, infinitesimal chance that it touched Joe, Kyle would know immediately because of its attaching-explosive properties. The moment Joe grazed even a speck of the dust, the rest would be sucked into him like a swarm of bees before exploding in Holy light.
The dust was the key, the final piece, the cue that would unleash it all. All Kyle had to do now was wait for Joe to stumble.
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:29 pm
Joe will probably curse what was happening, later, but for now? Oh, he kept up his strikes and running around, but alas, he failed to realize that his attacks were just healing the male.
And he didn't even process the dust was getting added to the mix, thought that didn't matter. The natural current of air that came from him stirred it around, not letting it stick to him or touch him.
But at least Joe was getting his frustration out with a few 'good' whacks.
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 11:00 pm
With each blow, Kyle felt increasingly refreshed; he couldn't help but grin as another of Joe's assaults sent him somewhat higher into the air as the others. The Cosmic Dust was apparently useless, so he stopped wasting his energy on that (Joe may or may not have noticed the appearance of an additional 2 Starlights around the field, bringing the count to 16). However, as Kyle could feel himself fully healed, he couldn't help himself.
"Having fun?"
The call was clear and entirely unstressed, proving his lack of injury. Hoping for the comment to psych out his opponent, Kyle landed and immediately summoned his spear back to his hands. He recalled where the dust had last sensed a 'disturbance' and, after charging a mild amount of energy into his legs, Charged toward that location with intense velocity (his force powered by his magic), swinging his spear at the spot as he passed (adding what physical strength he did have).
If he hit? All the better to psych his opponent out. If Joe was still able to function, and sensed his attack, thus dodging? Then Kyle would at least burst out of the sandstorm, providing momentary sanctuary.
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